smartdavis, I can't wait to say the same thing! I think I'm within weeks! A bunch of people at my work can't wait to test drive mine when I get it. I swear the first day I bring it to work I might as well take a vacation day because I won't get any work done... ) I can't wait!
No offense to Mini owners, but, I'd rather have a smart. ;)
Why not have both?
It's not about which car one would "rather" have. You started this thread with the premise that consumers should expect all these issues (listed by you) due to the complexity of introducing a new brand. More than one of us just posted that at least one other marketer has gotten it brilliantly right. The bar has been raised and PAG has missed it repeatedly. That being said, I'll wait to get my smart later this month and decide based on the car's merits whether to keep it more than a few months. But having been through two purchases of a MINI, the first ordered the second day the first Texas dealer was open, I continue to be surprised at the low level of customer focus of PAG.
I didn't buy my car because of PAG. They are irrelevant. I bought the car because I fell in love with the whole concept of a small energy efficient package, but after an extensive test drive I knew it was also going to be an amazing amount of fun. I can't get this across in a post but after awhile it gets to be like a second skin. I am not a car nut. I am not one of these crazy drivers on the freeway changing lanes to get ahead by 2 car lengths. I don't buy performance cars. I used to just drive my cars to get from A to B. Now I look for any excuse to just drive my car for the fun of it. I can't get enough of it. It just makes me chuckle to go whipping around corners, doing zippy little u-turns where no-one else can go. Ah well. You just need to own one. I wouldn't sell mine for double what I paid.
Hate to say it (again), but that is just what MINI did a few years ago ** new dealer network, new business licenses in every state, ability to order JUST what you want (lots more options than smart), and a great system of telling you when the car would arrive. Website even let you track it through the factory and across the ocean.
It's been done before, about 6 years earlier with fewer online developments, and was a great success. Frankly, this isn't rocket science.
Sorry ** I am looking forward to my smart and I don't expect perfection, but I do believe that smart has really dropped the ball customer-service wise. MINI set a great standard and that's just the way the marketing world is ** you must stay ahead or die.
true ... i had forgotten about MINI. My dealer found me my exact car as an orphan at the New Jersey dock just 2 days after I placed my order, so I never got to use the website. But that was in '04 - was the online tracker available MINI's very first year here? And of course MINIUSA was still MINI, and not distributed by a different company, so that may have helped.
SmartJJ, yeah a friend of mine got a mini the first year and showed me the tracking, They really made it fun to see every movement of the car, on the other hand SmartUSA did nothing and then on March 31st started the useless DDE that doesnt show jack.. I waited a year before complaining but sorry 365 days and It's still not on a boat?! or maybe it is? Maybe I'll get it in 8 days or maybe on July 11th, thanks for nothing PAG.
I was really intrigrued by the Mini but then when I tried to sit in them at the Detroit Autoshow I found that I am too tall (6'2") my head hits the roof liner.
And when I priced it to what I wanted they got pretty expensive (about $25K without the JCW upgrade).
I actually think the Yaris is a better car but I just like the Smarts look, I actually find the performance and the shifting of the Smart horrible. I still want one but I'm not going to kid myself by saying its better than a Toyota. If the IQ was out today i'd buy one in a heart-beat over the Smart
Your sentiment is likely to transition, along the lines of those, at:
Not exactly... The car is engineered by Mercedes and the tranmission is built by Mercedes. The Europeans I have met consider it a Mercedes vehicle which is assembled in France. I guess it is like saying that my Honda is still a Honda even though it is built in Canada and has many parts sourced by non-Honda suppliers.
stuberman,
You may enjoy this smart Mercedes notation idea, at:
SmartJJ, yeah a friend of mine got a mini the first year and showed me the tracking, They really made it fun to see every movement of the car, on the other hand SmartUSA did nothing and then on March 31st started the useless DDE that doesnt show jack.. I waited a year before complaining but sorry 365 days and It's still not on a boat?! or maybe it is? Maybe I'll get it in 8 days or maybe on July 11th, thanks for nothing PAG.
Curtis,
I went through same scenario of not knowing. I never got a 30 day e-mail and my only communications were through the dealership. Those communications, I initiated myself. I know where my car is as they called yesterday to tell me I will be able to take delivery in 7-10 days or sooner. It was at the vehicle processing center at the port. By the time I get it—it will have been a year and 2 weeks from reservation. My suggestion is to call or e-mail your dealer. It is very likely your car is either at a VPC port or on a transport to your dealer. It will happen!
I have to agree that an efficient tracking system certainly would go along way to ease the anxiousness of waiting Smart reservation holders.
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) I can't wait!
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